Abstract
Optimizing the mono-cultivation and mixed cultivation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella vulgaris, and an Ettlia sp. was evaluated for treating nitrate-contaminated groundwater and biomass production. Ettlia sp. showed the highest nutrient assimilation and growth rate among the three microalgae during bioremediation. Light-dark cycle was the effective condition for nutrient removal and COD mitigation by microalgae. Mixed microalgae with a larger presence of the Ettlia sp. exhibited the highest biomass productivity, nitrate-nitrogen, and phosphate-phosphorus removal rates of 0.21 g/L/d, 16.6, and 3.06 mg/L/d, respectively. An N:P mass ratio of 5 was necessary to increase the mixed-microalgal performance. The settling efficiency of the mixed microalgae increased up to 0.55 when using pH modulation during 30 min. Therefore, applying an Ettlia sp.-dominant consortium was the optimum strategy for the bioremediation of nitrate-contaminated groundwater in 3 days.
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Funding
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the University of Tehran under grant number 8104956/1/03, KRIBB Research Initiative Program, and Advanced Biomass R&D Center (ABC) of the Global Frontier Program funded by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (2010-0029723).
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Rezvani, F., Sarrafzadeh, MH., Seo, SH. et al. Optimal strategies for bioremediation of nitrate-contaminated groundwater and microalgae biomass production. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 27471–27482 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2777-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2777-5